You’ve probably heard this before, “if Momma isn’t happy, nobody’s happy.”  Well, in this house, if the toddler isn’t happy nobody’s happy and nothing gets done. Nothing gets done easily anyway! If you have a toddler you know exactly what I mean.

My little one has all of his brothers wrapped around his little fingers and we all love him more than life itself. However, he makes sitting down and doing school challenging. Especially when we are using our reading program, Hooked on Phonics . Or anything that requires reading.  I am constantly looking for tricks and ideas to keep my little one happy. Yes for me this is a challenge and I bet it is for you to!

If I’m being honest,  most days, he only wants me and my full attention. Nothing else will do. These are the days when homeschool is the most challenging.

This is my 2nd go around homeschooling with a toddler in the house. It is not always easy. We still have days when we struggle. But, over the years I have come up with a few things that help make the struggle a little easier. Today I am going to share how we make homeschool doable with a toddler in the house.

Remember, it will get easier! Your little one will grow up! Make these easy adjustments to your homeschool day and enjoy the time you have with your toddler, while he/she is still little.  You got this!

5 easy adjustments that make homeschooling with a toddler easier.

1. We switched to an online homeschool curriculum for Math.

This year, I switched my kids to Teaching Textbooks. It is a reasonably priced math curriculum that is completely online. They can sit and do their lessons at the computer with minimal help from me. So, while they are doing their math lessons I can give my toddler my undivided attention. We usually do something he wants to do, like play with cars or his favorite trains. This math program keeps up with their grades and requires very little from me.  We all love it!

2. I created history lessons that were educational but simple.

For history, I created history lessons that my kids actually enjoyed. With far less reading then any other history curriculum its mush easier to keep their attention. It’s hard to sit and read several pages of history with a 2 year old jumping around. So I created interactive full lessons with bits and pieces of important information. Like this All About The Pilgrims Unit. I print out a copy for my toddler and he is able to sit at the table and color along with the bigger boys. He feels like he is involved and everyone is happy! This has truly been then easiest way to do history for my boys and the most enjoyable!

3.  Break up lessons into small time frames.

If I feel like a lesson is going to take more than 15-20 mins I will break it up into two days. If my toddler is occupied and I feel like we will have no interruptions for more than 20 mins I may finish out the lesson. But, I have noticed with all of my boys this is a good time frame for keeping their attention.

4. We do not do every subject every single day.

We started homeschooling over 5 years ago and to this day, we do not do every subject everyday. We have never done that. The only subjects I try to do everyday are Bible, Math and Reading. When you have little ones in the house, there is no reason to do this to them or to yourself. I also break up history and science. We will do history one month and science the next month. This simplifies our school load and works well for us and they are still learning!

5.  Complete certain assignments at night when the toddler goes to bed.

When your homeschooling with toddlers you have to be flexible. In our house the little man is in the bed before everyone else. If we weren’t able to complete our reading assignment during the day, or grammar we will do it together before bed. We have used Hooked on Phonics for several years now. We love it! And,  it only takes about 15 mins a lesson. We normally read to our kids before bed anyway . I’ve also found that the kids will do anything to get out of going to sleep! ha!

After homeschooling for five years. This is what we do in our home. Using an online Math program really makes homeschooling with a toddler easier. Breaking up lessons into short time frames keeps everyone’s attention. Not feeling like we have to do every subject every day keeps our work load simple and gives us more quality time. Everyone is still learning. Making these simple adjustments makes homeschooling with a toddler easier for our family.

Have you tried any of these adjustments? What’s your biggest struggle? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!